Condensationproof car construction



March 28, 1939. w. D. THOMPSON CONDENSATIONPROOF CAR CONSTRUCTION FiledApril 20, 1936 INVENTOR WILLIAM D. THOMPSON Patented Mar. 28, 1939UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,152,617 CONDENSATIONPROOF CAR CONSTRUCTIONApplication April 20, 1936, serial No. 75,471

4 Claims.

The invention relates to cars designed for the transportation ofmaterials such as flour, which during transit liberate a relativelylarge amount of condensable water vapor. Such materials 5 when loaded infreight cars are usually at relatively high temperature, while the wallsand roof of the cars, particularly in the winter season, are at muchlower temperature both at the time of loading and during transit. Thedifference in temperature may be as great as from 80 to 100 F. for thetemperature of the material loaded, and a drop of the externaltemperature as low as from to 30 below zero. Thus the vapor laden airwithin the interior of the car 15 coming in contact with the cold wallswill condense, and by dropping on to the load or draining on to thefloor on which the load is piled, may work injury thereto.

In my c-o-pending application Ser. No. 725,672, filed May 14, 1934, Ihave described means for preventing such condensation, consistingessentially in the provision of a moisture absorbent material, such asthat known as dry felt, which is placed as a lining on the walls and theroof of the car. The only objection to such construction is that inloading and. unloading, this lining material may be injured. I havetherefore devised an improved construction, still using the absorbentmaterial, but placing the same so as to protect it from injury. Suchconstruction is shown in the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is across section through the car of my improved construction;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through the roof of the car;

Figure 3 is a cross-section through a portion of the car, showing amodification.

Modern freight cars are quite largely built of steel comprising a steelframe having uprights A and sheeting B secured outside said uprights;also a steel roof C. Such cars are frequently provided with a woodenlining comprising side walls D and a ceiling E. Also, the floor F isformed of wood, but of much greater thickness than that forming the sidewalls and ceiling. While the thermal conductivity of wood is much lessthan that of metal it is, nevertheless, true that with these woodenlined cars loaded with flour or similar moisture containing material, 50condensation does occur to the injury of the contents.

My improved construction is a car of the type just described in whichthe absorbent material F, such as dry felt, is placed between the wooden5 lining and the metallic portions of the car. This serves a doublefunction: first, of greatly improving the heat insulation; and second,of absorbing condensed moisture. The latter function is performed forthe reason that the wooden lining is not an air-proof or vapor-proofstructure, but will permit the vapor-laden air to pass through thecrevices between adjacent boards where it meets the absorbent material,so that the water content is largely absorbed.

It is usual in house car constructions to terminate the wooden lining atthe sides of the car a short distance above the floor so as to leave anopening into the space between the lining and the outer sheeting. Whencars of this type are loaded with grain, some of the material may passthrough cracks or openings in the lining into the space between the sameand the sheeting and to return this into the car it is customary toprovide so-called grain strips G which are placed in the corner betweenthe floor and outer sheeting and extend between the uprights A. Theinner faces of these grain strips are beveled and, therefore, any grainfalling thereon will be directed inward into the car. A further functionperformed by these strips is to stop any leakage of grain or othermaterial through any crevice between the floor and outer sheeting. Withmy improved construction, I preferably place absorbent material adjacentto these grain strips so as to absorb any condensation which may drop orrun down the inner face of the outside sheeting and might otherwise runin onto the floor of the car.

As shown in Figure 1, this material extends along the inclined face, asindicated at F, and also has its upper edge turned in between the grainstrips G and the sheeting. In the modified construction shown in Figure3, the absorbent material H, preferably a folded strip thereof, extendsbetween the entire length of the grain strip G and the adjacentsheeting. It is also of sufficient length to extend upward above thegrain strip to be in the path of any water draining down from thesheeting, so as to absorb the same. Thus, it performs the same functionas the material F but leaves the inner face of the grain strip free.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A car for transporting moisture laden ma.- terial and protecting thesame from condensation comprising a car body, a lining therefor which ispervious to moisture laden air and moisture absorptive material arrangedand extending substantially continuously between said body and liningcovering substantially the entire outer surface of the latter, saidmaterial having sufiicient capacityto absorb the moisture as liberated.

2. A car for transporting moisture laden material and protecting thesame from condensation comprising a. car body, a lining therefor whichis pervious. to moisture laden air, and absorptive material arranged andextending substantially continuously between the body and liningcovering substantially the entire outer,

surface of the latter and forming thermal insulation and havingsufficient capacity to absorb the moisture as liberated.

3. A car for transporting moisture laden material and protecting thesame from condensation comprising a metal car body and a wooden liningtherefor which is pervious to moistureladen air, an absorptive materialextending subouter surface of the later, and absorbent material adjacentto said grain strip for intercepting any condensation draining from saidsheeting.

WILLIAM D. THOMPSON.

